Sunshine Activities

Sunshine activities for kids introduces them to the fascinating capabilities of the sun.

The sun is extremely powerful. In addition to lighting and heating the Earth, it is responsible for powering countless functions and processes of endless living things. It's not just a source of light, it's a source of life.

Keep Reading Below

Give kids these fascinating sunshine activities to do, and watch them learn more about the natural world. Once you start on one activity, they'll find it hard to stop.

For more fun activities and crafts, try:

Solar Prints

What You'll Need:

Some nature objects

Light-sensitive paper

How to Make Solar Prints:

Step 1: Gather some objects in nature that have interesting shapes, such as leaves, flowers, and twigs.

Keep Reading Below

Step 2: Arrange some of the objects on light-sensitive paper. (You can buy this at a hobby, photography, or toy store.) Be sure to keep the paper away from the light until your objects are all arranged.

Step 3: Put the paper in direct sunlight for about five minutes. Take off the objects and dip the paper in water to set the image. Lay out the paper to dry.

Solar-printed paper makes great stationery and greeting cards. Or, you can color or paint the images to make artwork.

Tell time like the ancients did with a sundial you make yourself! Keep reading to find out how.

For more fun activities and crafts, try:

Make a Sundial Activity

This make a sundial activity teaches kids how ancient people told time before there were clocks.

What You'll Need:

Thin cardboard

Tape

Wooden board

Pen or marker

How to Make a Sundial:

Step 1: Cut a piece of thin cardboard to the dimensions shown in the illustration. Tape the cardboard upright on a board. Put the sundial outdoors in a sunny place with the highest point of the triangle facing south.

Keep Reading Below

Step 2: Starting as soon as it gets light, go to your sundial every hour on the hour, and mark where the shadow of the cardboard falls. For example, at 11 a.m., write "11 a.m." at the place where the shadow falls.

Once all the hours are marked you can use your sundial to tell time. Make sure you place your sundial in exactly the same spot each time you use it.

Can you think of ways that clocks are an improvement over sundials? The most obvious is that clocks tell time at night, too, while sundials don't. What else?

For more fun activities and crafts, try:

Fun in the Sun Activity

What time is it? Time to try this fun in the sun activity. Once you build your own sundial, you may never use a watch again!

What You'll Need:

Medium-sized stick

Marker

Watch

Several small wooden stakes

Sundials have been used for centuries to help tell the time. Now, you can learn the secret. Start your sundial bright and early on a day that will be quite sunny. First, place the stick in the ground in an area that gets a lot of sun.

Keep Reading Below

Then, place a small stake at the tip of the shadow cast by the stick and write the time on the side. As the sun moves through the sky, the stick's shadow will move. Keep an eye on your watch.

When an hour has passed, place another wooden stake at the tip of the new shadow cast by the stick. Write the time on the side of this stake. Continue to mark the shadows throughout the afternoon and be sure to write the correct time on each stake.

When you finish, you'll have a sundial! To find out what time it is, follow the shadow cast by the stick. It'll point to a stake, and you can see the time on the side of the stake!

Continue reading to the next page to find out how temperature affects the volume of gas.

What You'll Need:

On a hot, sunny day, wash a jar in soapy water and rinse it clean. Drop in three bags of your favorite tea. (Citrus-flavored herb teas are particularly good for this.)

Keep Reading Below

Pour in three cups of cold water. Seal the jar and put it outside for two or three hours, keeping it in the hot sun continuously. Bring the jar indoors and remove the teabags.

Put a few ice cubes in a glass and pour in the tea. Add sugar and lemon, if desired, and enjoy your tea! Leftover tea should be stored in the refrigerator. Try this with different teas. Which kind do you like best?

For more fun activities and crafts, try:

Solar-Powered Oven Activity

In this solar-powered oven activity, kids use the sun and aluminum foil to create an oven, and bake a delicious treat to share with a friend!

This is a fun project for a sunny, summer day.

Keep Reading Below

What You'll Need:

Aluminum foil

Eight x eleven-inch white paper

Scissors

Glue

Apple slices

Small paper cup

Plastic wrap

Rubber band

Cinnamon (optional)

How to Make a Solar-Powered Oven:

Step 1: Take the aluminum foil, and, using the white paper as a guide, cut the foil into an eight by eleven-inch sheet. Glue the foil to the paper, and roll it into a cone with the white paper on the outside. Let the glue dry.Step 2: Place the apple slices in the cup. Cover the top of the cup with plastic wrap, and place the rubber band around the plastic wrap to hold it in place.Step 3: Give your kids permission to dig a small hole, and place the pointed end of the cone into the hole. Make sure the cone is lined up directly with the sun.

At noon, when the sun is at its hottest, set the cup with the apple slices inside the cone. Leave the cone outside for two hours, checking it every 30 minutes.

When the apple has baked, sprinkle the slices with a little cinnamon and share this treat with a friend.For more fun activities and crafts, try: